That was my thought when the Irish went for it on 4th and 8--in FG range, with less than a minute to go, when all they needed to do was score and run out the clock.

Honestly, at this point, I can't think of any rational explanation for that call there. Even if Navy had a guy who could block the kick, they'd still have to get well inside the 30 to have a good chance of winning (their kicker was dreadful).